For many years, vehicles have, almost without exception, been provided with a gutter running along the edges of the vehicle roof which has proved eminently suitable for the anchorage of a roof-rack, load carrier and similar equipment which is to be secured on the vehicle roof. However, modern vehicles, in which streamlining has been pursued to the extreme, often lack these gutters or drip trays, with the result that traditional mounting of a roof-rack, load carrier etc. can no longer be carried out.
On certain types of modern vehicles without roof gutters, special anchorages have been developed for roof-racks, load carriers etc., these being provided with a support plate with a profiled rubber insert which closely follows the configuration of the side edge portion of the roof. For fixedly clamping this support plate, use is then made of a catch which grasps about the roof edge along the upper side of the door opening of the vehicle.
In certain types of vehicles, such anchorage is not possible, since the sealing strip which is intended to seal between the vehicle door and the vehicle body is placed immediately above the door opening and is often secured in a panel projecting laterally from the vehicle and forming a "shelf" above the door opening. As a rule, the above-mentioned sealing strip is normally placed on the upper side of this "shelf" thereby effectively preventing the employment of a catch which extends in and grasps about the edge of the door opening.
A further factor which severely impedes the securement of a roof-rack, a load carrier or similar accessories on a vehicle provided with the above-discussed placement of the sealing strip is that the vehicle door closely approaches the roof edge such that the space between the vehicle door and the closely adjacent roof edge is extremely restricted when the vehicle door is closed. In addition, the space is as good as completely filled-out by the sealing strip which is compressed by the vehicle door on closure.